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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · scale · wax · pound · cell · staff

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. scale — in music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. staff — employees
  7. pound — a weight
  8. present — there
  9. scale — size or range
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. staff — employees
  18. pound — to hit hard

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com